Companies are invited to validate the impact of their actions regularly, in an effort of continuous improvement. (Photo: 123RF)
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EMPLOYEE HEALTH. The pandemic has greatly affected the health, especially the mental health of employees. There are, however, concrete ways to act on the various risk factors associated with work, specialists argue.
The new health rules and forced teleworking have exacerbated several psychosocial risk factors already present in workplaces, notes Caroline Biron, professor at the Faculty of Administration at Laval University and director of the Center of Expertise. in occupational health and safety management. “We have known for a long time that these various risks, such as overwork, affect the mental health of workers, and they are still present in the context of a pandemic. “
Confined remotely, employees have effectively collapsed with work, in addition to having to deal with the vagaries of technology and the proliferation of meetings, she illustrates. To protect their health, managers have every advantage to review individual tasks to eliminate overload, for example by simplifying procedures that are “unnecessarily” complex. “We can also reduce the layers of bureaucracy, try to purify”, points the researcher. She recalls that a job is made up not only of the sum of tasks to be accomplished, but also of the difficulties that must be overcome to get there. “And, with telecommuting, managers are even less aware of all the pitfalls that every employee may encounter. “
Managers must also avoid falling into the trap of excessive monitoring, while the “lack of autonomy increases the risks in terms of mental health”, underlines Caroline Biron. Conversely, she suggests that they be well equipped in terms of recognition, so that they can recognize the successes of their employees, as well as their efforts and perseverance. And thus take into account another crucial element in terms of prevention.
Building on relationships
Occupational health encompasses physical, psychological, social, and even spiritual well-being – the meaning one finds in one’s work – according to certain definitions. “The whole relational aspect is therefore important, both with his colleagues and with his boss,” says Dr Mario Messier, scientific director of the Healthy Enterprises Group.
Hence the importance of stimulating, even virtually, meetings within the company. “Despite the multitude of meetings we can have, we have to create individual contacts; a quick phone call to check if everything is going well, if the person needs help, for example, ”advises Caroline Biron. A reflex developed at the start of the pandemic that must be maintained as long as the crisis continues, she adds.
For her part, the Certified Human Resources Advisor (CRHA) and industrial psychologist at the SCO Consulting Group Ghislaine Labelle suggests setting up support groups between colleagues, or even pairing up certain workers so that they can collaborate. In addition to this way of breaking through isolation, managers could add psychological health issues to the agendas of team meetings. “This allows us to address not only what is going well, but also what is not going well and what we can do to improve everything,” she explains.
The fact of openly addressing psychological health also makes it possible to legitimize the needs of workers and shows the openness of the organization to find solutions to meet them, notes Ghislaine Labelle.
A way forward
Any move to improve workers’ health begins with surveying your troops to understand their real needs, says Dr. Mario Messier. “You have to take the time to ask employees what they need and find ways to involve everyone. In jest, I tell the managers to connect to their WIIFM, which means “What’s in it for me?” [Qu’est-ce que cela va m’apporter?]. »
“Groupe entreprises en santé offers an approach that enables the first steps to be taken in the area of corporate health, with different stages and requirements,” explains Dr Messier. For example, in addition to identifying the right measures to put in place, organizations should also appoint a responsible person and develop a structured plan with goals, budgets and a communication plan. Reviewing management practices, such as recognition, autonomy granted or work-family balance, is just as important in ensuring a healthy work climate, he adds.
Companies are also invited to validate the impact of their actions regularly, in an effort of continuous improvement. This is a very useful procedure to ensure that these preventive and health promotion measures will have real results, underlines the scientific director.
“We have assessed that the direct and indirect costs of health issues [comme le présentéisme ou les primes d’assurances collectives] represents on average 23% of the payroll of organizations ”, he indicates. The game is therefore worth the candle, not only for workers, but also for employers.
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